Machine for feeding and sorting nail-blanks.



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' attorneys E. E. PIERCE & L. W. NEWTON. MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND SORTING NAIL BLANKS.

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I0 MODEL.

No. 757,676. PATENTBD APR. 19,1904. E. E. PIERCE & L. W. NEWTON.

MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND SORTING NAIL BLANKS. 7 APPLICATION rILnb APR. 1, 190a.

1m MODEL. 14 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENTED APR. 19, 1904.

E. E. PIEEEE N. L. W." NEWTON. MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND SO-RTING NAIL BLANKS.

APPLICATION FILED APR, 1, 1903.

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MAGHINE FOR FEEDING AND SORTING NAIL BLANKS'.

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MAGHINE FOR FEEDING AND .SORTING NAIL BLANKS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1, 1903.

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No. 757,676. I I PATBNTBD APR.19,1904.

E. PIERGE & L. w. NEWTON. MACHINE POR FEEDING AND SORTING NAIL BLANKS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1I 1908. H0 MODEL. 14 SHBETS-BHBET 6.

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PATENTED APR. 19, 1904. E E. PIERCE 61: L. W. NEWTON; I MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND SORTING NAIL BLANKS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1, 1903;

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No. 757,676. 7 PATENTED APR. 19, 1904.

E. E. PIERCE & L. W..NEWTON.

MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND SORTING NAIL BLA'NKS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1, 1903.

14 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

,Eimaubov! PA TENTED'APR. 19, 1904. E. E. PIERCE & L. W. NEWI'ON MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND SORTING NAIL BLANKS.

APPLIOAHOH FILED APlLl, 1903.

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No. 757,676. PATENTED APR. 19, 1904. E. B. PIERCE & L. W. NEWTON. MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND SORT ING NAIL BLARKS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1, 1903.

H0 MODEL. .14 SHEETS-SHEET 10.

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No. 757,676. PATENTED APR. 19, 1904.

' E. E. PIERCE & L. W. NEWTON;

MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND SORTING NAIL BLANKS. AH'LIOATIOR rum) APR. 1. 1903.

no 110mm. 14 snnn'rs-snmz'r 11.

n4: mums estrus PATENTED APR. 19 1904. I v E. E, PIERCE & L. W. 'NEWTON.

MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND SORTING NAIL BLANKS.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 1- 1903.

N0 MODEL.

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MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND SORTING NAIL BLANKS.

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APPLIOA'IIOR' IILED APR. 1, 1903.

14 SHEETS-SHEET 13 Gwen sup No. 757,676; V PATBNTBD APR. 19, 1904. E. E. PIERCE & L. W. NEWTON.

MACHINE FOR FEEDING AND SORTING NAIL BLANKS- APPLICATION 21mm APR. 1, 190a. 1

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No. revere.

UNITED STATES ERASTU S E. PIERCE. AND LEWIS W. NEWTON, OF NEW BRIGHTON, PENN-' PATENT OFFICE.

SYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO STANDARD HORSE NAIL COMPANY, OF NEW BRIGHTON, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINE FOR FEEDKNG AND SOHTING NAlL-B LA NKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 757,676, dated April 19, 1904:. I

Application filed April 1, 1903. Serial No. 150,625. (No model.)

"To all whom, it .may madam I Be it known that we, ERASTUS E. PIERCE and LEWIS W. NEWTON, citizens of the United States, residing at New Brighton, in the county of Beaver, State of Pennsylvania, have invent- 2o accompanying drawings,.in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of our improved apparatus. Fig. 2 is a front elevation; Fig. 3, a part side elevation on the opposite side from that shown in Fig. 1; Fig. IL, a plan View 2 5 of part of the apparatus as shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5, an enlargedfront elevation of part of the apparatus; Fig. 6, a front elevation, fur-.

ther enlarged, of the upper portion of the apparatus; 'Fig. 7, a cross-section on the line 7 o 7, Fig. 5; Fig. 8, a detached plan view of the arm carrying the separable sorter-tube with the tube in position thereon. V Fig.- 9 isafront view of the transfer device -in part section; Fig. 10, a plan in part section of Fig. 9; Fig. 11, a plan of :the conductor; Fig. 12, a side elevation of the conductor; Fig. 13, an end 1 elevation; Fig. 14, a section across the upper part of the'conductor; Fig. 15, a view look; ing vtoward the lower end ofthe conductor; Fig. 16, an edge view of the stop; Fig. 17, a

side elevation looking from the right, Fig. 5;

Fig. 18,.a plan of the regulator-guard; Fig.. 19, an edge view thereof;. Fig. 20, an enlarged sectional side elevation of the sorting appliances and ad uncts; Fig. 21, a sectional view of part of the appliance shown in Fig. 20, illus-' trating other operations than shown in said figure; Fig. 22, a detached view illustrating Our invention relates apparatus for sortthe connection between the sorter-tube-carrying arm and its shaft; Fig. 23, a plan of Fig. 22; Fig. 24, a side elevation of the carrier and adjuncts for-presenting the blanks properly to the finishing-machine; Fig. 25, an enlarged part-sectional side view of the car.- rier; Fig. 26, a longitudinal section of part of the devices for delivering the blanks to the carrier; Fig. 27, a transverse section on the line 27 of Fig. 26; Fig. 28, an elevation of the magazine-tube; Fig. 29, a portion of one section of the tube; Fig. 30, a section on the line 30 30, Fig. 28; Fig. 31, a section on the line 81 31, Fig. 28; Figs. 32 and 34, views of the head and end plates of the drum; Fig. 33, an edge view of Fig. 32.

. The main features of the machine comprise a rotating drum B, Figs. 1 to 3, provided with short internal blades 50, Fig. 3, which lift the blanks deposited in the drum until they fall into a hopper C, inclined within the drum, from which they pass along a vertical channel and an inclined conductor V toward a transferrer G, Figs. 5 and 6, having oppositely arranged fingers, which seize theblanks by the heads and transfer them to a verticaltube J of sorting devices, whereby imperfect blanks, or those which are too large or too small, are

Patented April is, 19o4.

discarded, the perfect blanks passing thence successively to the sections M N of amagazinetube and being successivelyjseized by a rock- 1 ing carrier O, Figs. 1, 24, which presents them to the finishing-machineby the dies W, after whieh'the blanks are converted into finished nails.

2 The above-described main devices may be constructed in different ways'to secure the decomprise the drum; hopper, and conductor and, together with the other parts hereinafter described, are carried by the frameA. The

drum B turns on friction-rollers 57 between stationary end plates 58 and 59,Figs. 1, 3,. 32,

33, 34, and is formed of two hollow: truncated cones joined at their bases, whereby the blanks are caused to gravitate toward the enlarged section of the drum, where they will be lifted by the wings or buckets 50. The conductor V, Figs. 11, 12, consists of two parallel side bars 63 63, between which are supported smaller separated bars 62 62, and at their upper ends the side bars 63 flareoutwardly and have attached thereto inclined plates 61 61, Figs. 11 to 15, constituting the hopper C and separated at their lower edges to form a narrow channel 64, continued between the bars. 62 62. At their upper ends the sidebars 63 are extended to receive.cranks upon a rotating shaft 51, by means of which an oscillating reciprocating motion is imparted to the hopper and conductor, and these cranks are in different positions, so that one of the side sections of the hopper and conductor will be operated a half-revolution in advance of the other, by means of which the nail-blanks are so agitated and stirred up as to facilitate their onward progress and cause them to take positions in the slot with their shanks hanging through the same, this result being facilitated by turning the shaft 51 in the direction of its arrow, Fig. 12. The lower ends of the bars 62 62 of the conductor slide in sockets or grooves in two adjacent brackets 200 200, Figs. 12, 15, secured in a stationary position and receiving between them the blade of a stop Q, the head of which projects above the edges of the bars 62, as shown in Figs. 12 and 15, the said stop-blade serving also to regulate the distance between the brackets 200,

which may be changed by substituting stops with blades of different thicknesses, according to the sizes of blanks operated upon.

The forward or lower ends of the hopper blades or plates 61 are inclined, as shown in Fig. 12, and the upper edges of the conductorbars 63 are inclined downward from opposite sides of the central slot, Fig. 15, so that any blanks which fail to enter the slot in passing from the hopper to the conductor can readily fall to either side and will on passing the for: ward edges of the hopper be thrown to one side or the other and fall into the drum. If these edges were not so inclined, the plates 61 would tend to hold the blanks on the conductor and cause them to travel forward.

Any' small scrap and bits of metal or imperfect blanks that may fall through the slot 64 are received by a conductor 1, Fig. 13, consisting of a trough of sheet metal bolted to one of the side bars 63 and moving therewith and extending forward beyond the drum, Fig. 1, to conduct the particles that fall into the same beyond the end of the drum and discharge them into a receptacle. (Not shown.)

As the blanks emerge from the hopper there is sometimes a tendency to cross, interlock, and pack together and to'become wedged in the slot, so. as to impede the feeding, and to prevent this the blanks are loosened from time to time by a suitable device which will engage them and push them upward and termed a pusher. As shown, the pusher E, Fig. 17, consists of an arm having at the lower end two blades, one-arranged to engage the blanks upon the conductor V and the other to engage those which may be farther back, the said arm being forked at its forward end and slotted for ready application to a crosspin 176 upon a reciprocating arm 76, whereby the pusher is moved back and forth, the said pusher being lifted at each reciprocation, so as to permit the heads of the nails properly in the slot to pass beneath it. This lifting is effected by the contact of the pusher with a guard-plate F as the pusher reaches the limit of its forward movement. The pusher may be lifted from the pin 17 6 whenever it is required to get access to the slot 6 1 in case a blank should become jammed therein. Any of the blanks which are discharged by the action of the pusher fallback into the drum.

The guard F consists of a fiat plate extending over the slot of the conductor a short distance above the latter and prevents a blank from crowding up and out of the slot, and this guard may be adjusted to the proper height upon studs 65 66 (see Figs. 11' and 12) on one of the bars 63, so that the guard has thus the vertical and reciprocating motion of the bar and tends to carry or urge the blanks along the slot.

To regulate the width of the slot at the upper end of the hopper, a spring 163, Fig. 11, is interposed between lips at the rear ends of the two bars 63 63 and tends to separate them to an extent limited by set-screws 214, carried in stationary lugs on the plate 59 and bearing against disks 215, which bear upon the outer faces of the bars 63. To prevent the side bars 63 from springing apart near the center, they are clamped in position by a yoke R, Fig. 17, bolted to one of the side pieces 63 at one end, the other carrying a set-screw 202, bearing against the side of the other bar or against an intervening washer.

.As a blank is brought into position against the stop Q with its head above the edges of the bars 62 it is in proper place to be seized and carried to the tube J, which is done by imparted. Each finger consists of a bar passingtransversely through the head of a rockshaft 67 and set in position by a set-screw 216 and secured after adjustment by a setscrew 217, and at the rear end of each rockshaft an arm 81 extends upward, the two arms connected by a spring 80, which tends to carry the shafts in the direction of their arrows, Fig. 9.' As the yoke 68 descends the A and raise the same.

rev-eve inner ends of the fingers will be brought upon the head of the blank which is supported by bars 62 and rests against the stop Q, and the fingers will rockand separate until they are on opposite sides of the head, and on the upward movement of the yoke the blank will be seized between the fingers and drawn upward and out of the slot. As the blanks hang suspended in the slot, some standing one way and the others in the opposite direction, but all-with the longest dimensions of the head corresponding to the direction of the slot, there is usually some friction caused by the crowding of the blanks against the ones being lifted, which would tend to cause the next blank to rise with it. Further, when two adjacent blanks are reversed-that is, one turned one way and the next the other waythey tend to lock together, so that one will be lifted with the other. To prevent this result and also to secure other effects hereinafter specified, a movable guard U, Figs. 17, 20, is arranged to slide back and forth above the conductor-bars 62 and under the stationary guard F, so that it may be brought into position to cover the head of the blank just back of the one which should be lifted. As shown, this guard consists of a blade 82, Figs. 18 and 19, with two wings 96 extending downward and outward for a purpose fully set forth hereinafter.

Above the fingers 2 2, Figs. 17, 20, is supported a bar H, and when the fingers have raised a blank a short distancethe head of the latter will be brought against the end of the bar with a force which will tend to tighten the head in its position between the fingers. As shown, the yoke 68 constitutes the head of an arm 94, swinging upon a shaft 69, on which also swings a lever X, Fig. 17, having two arms 76 and '70, the bar. H being secured to the latter. H is carried with it, but is stopped with its lower end slightly above the fingers as they seize the head of the blank, thereby permitting a slight upward motion of the latter before it strikes the bar in rising. The oscillation of the arm 94 is elfected by the rotation of a crank-wheel 219, the crank 220 of which (dotted lines, Fig. 20) enters a slide 221, sliding in a groove of the arm 94, and a pin 2 22, extending from the arm 94, is connected to a spring 7 5, the other end of which is attached to the arm 76, tending to swing thelatter forward and the arm 70 downward until the arm 76 strikes the adjustable stop 204, Fig. 3. When the fingers haveseized a blank, the contact of the head of. the latter with the-bar H lifts the barwith the arm 7 0; but when the fingers have not grasped the head of a blank a screw-head M,- Fig. 20, on the arm 94 will make contact with the lever All of the blanks, whatever their character, which are carried into. position by the con- VVhen the yoke descends, the bar ductor will be seized in succession between the fingers, which are, operated to so firmly grip whatever they may take hold of as to pull it from the slot, and after a blank has been lifted it is then brought under the action of the sorting devices, whereby blanks which are too short, too large, or improperly shaped or otherwise imperfect are discard ed, while those which are of a character to be carried to the finishing-machine are conducted toward the latter.

The sorting de vces.The sorting devices consist, essentially, of an expansible tubeJ and a deflector K, the said tube having a vertical channel 78 and the deflector consisting of a curved blade connected to a rock-shaft93, so that it can swing to and from the tube J, and

provided with a projecting lip 90, Fig. 20, the

upper edge of which is nearly on a level with the top of the tube J, and having at the back a cam 91, so arranged that its contact with the corner 92 of the yoke 68 will swing the deflector outward as a blank is carried toward its upper position, while a spring 95, attached to an arm on the shaft 93 and to a stationary stud, tends to swing back the deflector.

When a nail-blank has been carried to its ward, and if the blank is of'proper length the lip of the deflector will contact with the shank of the blank and swing it outward, so that on the descent of the yoke the lower end of the blank will enter the channel of the 'tube J. It will be seen, Fig. 20, that during this movement the axis of the blank does not coincide with that of the channel in the tube J, but forms such an angle therewith that the blank enters the channel obliquely, whereby the blank as it descends slides on and swings about the upper edge 97 of the mouth of the tube as a fulcrum, and the head is forced outward from between the fingers as the blank is carried down, and it will also be evident that, owing to the curvature of the blank, it will during these operations naturally swing quarter round into a position with its head length wise or the channel, which is wider transupper position, the deflector is swung outp versely than fromefront to rear. As the'blank is cramped over the corner 97 at the mouth of the tube, as before described and as shown in Fig. 20, and leaves the lifter-fingers it tends to turn to bring its head to itstransverse position with considerable Velocity, and to prevent it from making more than a quarter-turn a fender L is provided. This fender consists of a thin plate of steel which yields with a spring action under the contact of the turning head of the blank and exerts suflicient resistance to prevent the blank from rotating by momentum beyond the desired extent. The spring action may be secured in any suitable manner. As shown, the fender is L- shaped and the end of the horizontal portion is slotted and fits the annular groove of a nut 99, adjustable on a studlOl, supported at the end of a lever 102, and between the nut 99 and a jam-nut above is secured the end of a Z-shaped plate 98, carrying a vertical pin passing through the fender L and carrying a spring 103, Fig. 20, which bears upon the horizontal portion of the fender. The adjustment of the fender may therefore besecured by adjusting the nut 99. When the blank is released from the fingers, it drops downward through the channel 7 8.

In case a blank is too short to be properly finished the lip 90 will pass below the end of the blank,which therefore will not be swung outward above the'channel of the tube J and the head will not be released from between the fingers, as before; but when the fingers descend the end of the blank will be caughtin the junction of the lip 90 and the blade K. The blank being thus arrested in its descent, the head Will slip from between the fingers and the blank will fall to one side into any suitable, receptacle.

As before stated, the tube J is expansible, this being secured by making the tube (see Fig. 8) of two L-shaped strips arranged to form the oblong channel 78 and capable of separating from each other to thereby enlarge said channel. This affords a means of discarding blanks which by any accident have straight shanks. Such a blank (see Fig. 21) when inserted in the end of the tube J will have no tendency to swing around and will remain with its head in a direction across the passage 7 8, taking its bearings against the fender at the point 97 and at one side of the tube. After each action of the fingers the tube J swings outward if the previous blank has fallen clear ofthe tube, and a perfect blank will before such swinging action have passed downward into the magazine-tube M N if there is room for it; but a straight blank remains in p osi-, tion in the tube,which then opens by the separation of the two sections, and the imperfect blank is dropped outside the magazine-tube.

\Vhile the expansible tube J may be supported and expanded and contracted in different ways, an effective construction is illustrated in the drawings, in which the two sections of the tube are shown connected to the lever 102 and a lever 108, the latter being clamped to and extending horizontally from a vertical rock-shaft 109, rocking in bearings of the frame. (See Figs. 4, 5, and 8.) The lever 102 is pivoted to a stud 110 on the lever 108, and the inner end is slotted to receive a stationary stud 111 on the frame, Figs. 5 and 8, so that when the lever 108 swings outward in the direction of its arrow, Fig. 8, the inner end of the lever 102 will swingabout the stud 111 as a pivot, and the outer end, with the section 106 of the tube, will be separated from the section 107, carried by the lever 108.

A set-screw .112, carried, by the lever 102, bears with its end onv the section 107 and by adjustment determines the size'of the channel from passing and are cast out. A flat spring 116 is clamped to the head of the lever 102 by a nut 205 on the screw 112, the other end of the spring constituting one side of the slot receiving the stud 111, the said. spring enabling the lever 102 to yield under excessive pressure to relieve the strain if a falling or rejected blank should fail in any case to clear the tube J.

At the lower end of the tube J is a lug 206, Fig. 20,which by contact with the side of the tube M at the upper end insures a correct alinement of the tubes J and M with their passages or channels 78 and 178 in exact line with each other. a

The section 107 of the tube J is secured to the arm 108 by two bolts 223, and the section 106 is secured to the lever 102 by two bolts 224:, Figs. 6 and 8.

The'guard U and tube J work in unison to prevent the insertion of blanks in the tube J if the tube M is full or if a blank does not pass fully from the tube J. In either case the blank, partly in the tube J and partly in the tube M, will prevent the tube J from swinging outward, andthe operating devices of the guard U are such that in this case the guard will remain in position over the blank at the end of the slot 6 1, and the lifting-fingers will be brought against the flaring sides, Figs. 18. and 19, of the guard and will slide off the same as the fingers move upward without seizing or feeding a blank to the tube J. Any suitable connections may be employed to secure this coaction of the guard U and the tube J. As shown, a rock-shaft 120, Figs. 5 and 20, has arms 119, which extend upward through openings in a cross-bar of the guard, and to this rock-shaft (see Fig. 5) is clamped a spring-arm 118 in position to make contact with an arm 117, extending from'one of the pivot-screw heads of the clamp 301 on the shaft 109, that carries the tube J, so that whenever the tube J is carried outward and the arm 117 swung inward, followed by the arm 118, the shaft 120 will be rocked and the guard carried back. A spring 104, connected to the arm 117 and to a stationary part of the machine, tends to rock the shaft 109 in one direction, and a spring 103, connected to an arm on the shaft 120, tends to rock said shaft in a direction to carry the guard from above the blank which is in position to be received by the fingers.

The spring-arm 118, Fig. 5, is reduced in thickness at the lower end to form a spring portion 122, which is pivoted at the lower end by a bolt 123, so that it may be set to one side or the other, as shown in dotted lines, to regulate the extent of rocking movement imparted to the shaft 120, and thus determine the extent of travel of the guard U.

The magazine-tube.The-magazine-tube is vices which carry them to the finishing-ma chine, while the lower section N hasa straight channel. The upper section M fits a socket in the main frame A and is secured by a setscrew 126, Fig. 20. Where it is not necessary to turn the blanks, a tube with a continuous straight channel may be employed. To facilitate the manufacture of the section M with a spiral channel, it is made in two sections, with twisted and grooved meeting faces, as shown in Figs. 28 and 29, the two faces being brought into contact to form a tube cylindrical externally and adapted to the socket in the main frame, in which the two parts are secured and clamped together by the set-screw 126. In somecases a single tube having a spiral channel the entire length may be employed; but it is more economical and better adjustment may be secured by making the tube in two sections M N. The straight section N of the tube is preferably composed of four plates or bars 128 129 127 130, Fig. 7, inclosing a channel and clamped within a frame 230, Figs. 5, 7, and terminating at the lower end above a block 146, Figs. 24, 27, which is secured to the lower end of the frame 230 by set-screws 251, the said block having an opening 224,

forming a continuation of the channel in the tube N.

By making the tube N of a series of bars the latter may be adjusted to regulate the size of the channel in accordance with that of the head of the blank and so as to slightly expand toward the lower end, insuring the free passage of the blanks. Preferably the frame 230 is secured to the main frame by a bolt 132, Fig. 5, which permits the frame 230 and the tube N to be swung to adjust the lower end of the tube N to any desired position. j

It is desirable to regulate the time of delivery of the blanks T from the tube N, and a detent is therefore provided for arresting the blanks in the said tube and releasing them at theproper moment. As shown, the detent consists of a pin 137, Fig. 24, which may be pressed inward against the action of the surrounding spring 144 to, bring its inner end into position to prevent the passage of the head of a blank, which will thus be held suspended, as'indicated in Fig. 24. When pressure on the pin 137 is released, it moves outward, and the blank: will then drop until its lower end rests on the slide 147 just below the opening 224 in the block 146, and when the slide 147 is moved from under the opening 224 by the finger 227 as the carrier comes into position to receive a blank the blank will then fall until arrested by a suitable support. 5 Thus it will fall until its head rests upon the converging edges of-tw.o' stationary jaws 140 140, between which the blank is suspended, as shown in Figs. 26 and 27. The blank may be removed from between the jaws by carrying it inward in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1 and Fig. 26, and this is done by a rocking carrier 0, which seizes the blanks in succession from between the jaws 140 and swings them inward and downward to a position to .be seized by dies on the edges of the blank and carried by them between the rotating dies of the finishing-machine W, and one suitable form of finishing-machine adapted to cooperate with said parts being set forth in patents granted to Erastus E. Pierce, Nos. 363,417 and 379,413. The carrer.--While the carrier 0 may lo of any suitable construction, it is shown as consisting of a chuck 151, adjustably connected "to a rock-shaft 160, Figs. 1 and 24, and supporting two fingers 227 228, the former fixed to the chuck and the latter vibrating on afulcrum 153 and extending upward above the finger 227, with a terminal lip 229. Against the lower end of the finger 228 bears a plunger 161, which is forced toward the finger by a spring 154, confined in a casing of the chuck, the upper end of the finger 228 being thus carried toward the finger 227. Against the outer end ofthe detent-pin 137, Fig. 24, bears a strip 136, secured at the upper end by a bolt 141 and bent inward at the lower end to a position to be struck by the lip 229 of the finger 228, thereby carrying the detent inward to arrest the passage of blanks through the tube N and also arresting the movement of the upper part of the finger 228 and separating it from the finger 227. In a recess at the bottom of the block 146 moves a dovetailed slide 147, which is thrown inward by a spring'149, so that its end will closethe bottom of the passage in the'block 146 and constitute a rest for the blank which has fallen through the tube N. On the slide 147 is a rib 150, which is struck by the finger 227 as the carrier reaches its'upper position, the slide 147 being thus forced outward and from below the bottom of the opening 224, allowing the blank to drop to the position 7 shown in Fig; 26, while the detent 137 is held in position to prevent the, passage of another blank. When the carrier swings downward, the finger 227 moves from the slide 147, which again covers the opening 224, while the finger 228 moves away from the plate 136, which swings outward, together with the detent 137, permitting the downward passage of the blank which had been arrested by the detent. dies of the finishing-machine engage the blank at its edges and draw it out of the fingers endwise.

Operating mechanism. hile the abovedescribed main elements of the machine may be assembled and operated in different ways, certain operating mechanism is illustrated in the drawings, which will now be described.

The

In bearings of the main frame turns the driving-shaft 175, Fig. 1, carrying a pulley from which a belt 88 passes to a pulley 87 upon a shaft 77, Figs. .1 and 2, and the pulley 287 on the latter transmits motion 'bya belt 56 to a pulley 55 on the shaft 51, carrying a pinion 53, engaging a spur-wheel 54 on a shaft 250. On the shaft 250 is a bevel-pinion 52, which engages an annular rack 231 at the rear of the drum B and rotates the latter. The shaft 77, Figs; 4, 17, 20, carries the crankdisk 219, from which the arm 94, carrying the transfer-fingers, is oscillated, and the shaft 77 also carries a cam-wheel 105, Fig. 4, which bears upon an antifriction-roll 207, Figs. 4 and 6, on the end of an arm 206, extending from a shaft 109, swinging the latter in one direction against the stress of the spring 104,

and thereby also vibrating the shaft 120. To facilitate the passage of the blanks from the hopper and along the conductor, these parts are rapidly vibrated, as before described, by

suspending them from cranks 60, and these cranks are formed upon the shaft 51.

The shaft 160, Figs. 1 and 24, supporting the carrier O, is rocked by the vibrating lever 168, connected by a pitman 164 to an arm 163 on the said shaft 160, the ends of the pitman being connected to the arms by ball andsocket joints. The lever 168 vibrates on a stud 174 and is actuated by a cam 169 on the main driving-shaft 175. The shaft 160 has its hearings in a bracket 162, secured to the main frame by a bolt 260, which may be loosened to permit the bracket to be swung to one side to carry the fingers of the carrier out of the way of the operator when he is adjusting the machine or dressing the dies, the pitman 164 remainingin connection while permitting this adjustment in consequence of the ball-and-socket end connections. To set the tube J at different inclinations, the lever' 108 is secured to the shaft 109, Figs. 8, 22, 23, by a clamp consisting of a block 301 on the shaft, carrying two screws-or bolts 302 302, which pass into the end of the lever 108 and one of them through a curved slot 303 in the block. This permits the lever 108 to be swiveled to the extent desired to adjust the tube J and then secured by the clamp and bolts.

The machine is so timed that it operates at a more rapid rate than the finishing-machine, so that but little or no time is lost if the machine ceases feeding at intervals from any cause, and it will be seen that whenever the magazine can admit additional blanks the feeding will recommence.

The carrier 0 operates at the same speed as the finishing-machine.

It will be evident that many of the operating connections may be varied and that the main elements may be differently constructed to secure the same effects. Therefore we do not limit ourselves to the constructions shown.

It will be apparent also that some of the fea-.

tures of the apparatus may be used independently of the others in apparatus of different construction. I

Without limiting ourselves to the precise construction and arrangement shown,we claim as our invention 1. The combination of nail-blank-sorting means provided with a receiving channel, means for carrying blanks to a position longitudinally nearly in line with said channel, and a deflector arranged to contact with and shift only blanks of proper length with their ends in position to enter the said channel, substantially as set forth. 7

2. In a machine for supplying nail-blanks to a finisher, the combination of a hopper, a

transfer device, a conductor having an inclined channel for conducting the blanks by gravity from the hopper to a position to be seized by the transfer device, and sorting devices having a vertical channel arranged to receive the blanks longitudinally from the transfer device, and a deflector whereby blanks of proper character are carried into line with said receiving-channel, substantially as set forth.

3. In a nail-blank-feeding mechanism, the combination of a revolving drum inclined in both directions toward its largest diameter at a point between the ends with wings or buckets on its inner walls, at said enlargement, and a conductor arranged to receive and transfer the blanks to a point outside of the drum, substantially as set forth.

4; In a nail-blank-feeding mechanism, the combination of a drum with buckets, a conductor within the drum, arranged to receive blanks dropped from the buckets and to transfer blanks to a point outside of the drum and constructed to permit scrap to pass from the conductor, and a scrap-discharger located in the drum beneath the conductor and extending outward beyond the drum for discharging scrap to a point outside the drum, substantially as set forth.

5. In a nail-blank-feeding mechanismthe combination of adrum with buckets, a conductor extending in an inclined position through andoutward beyond the drum and having a central channel, means for reciprocating the conduc or, and a hopper with diverging side plates inclined at the lower ends, substantially as set forth. v

6. The combination in a nail-blank-feeding mechanism, of an inclined conductor provided with parallel separated bars having upper edges inclined downward toward the outer sides, and means for reciprocating said bars, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination in a nail-blank-feeding mechanism, of an inclined conductor provided with parallel separated bars, with upper edges inclined from the inside downward, a divided hopper having sides secured to the conductor 

